


Forget-Me-Not

by Sapphoria



Category: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Grieving, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Language of Flowers, M/M, More like... he never got to say how he felt, Short, Unrequited Love, Unsaid feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25249756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphoria/pseuds/Sapphoria
Summary: Don’t you dare forget those people you cherish so much.Cloud won’t let himself forget again.
Relationships: Hinted, Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25
Collections: Slice of Clack: July 2020





	Forget-Me-Not

**Author's Note:**

> This is... a somber take on the prompt “Flower Language” and it more heavily hinted Clack then outright said. It’s sort of... unspoken feelings kind of thing 
> 
> I hope it’s still to your liking! I wanted to do a short character study.
> 
> Unbeta’d and please pardon any grammar errors! Wrote on my phone during my break at work lol

“Hey… it’s me again.” 

Words spoken in the open air, quiet enough that they feel minuscule across the cliffs and plains just outside the metal skeleton of what was once Midgar, proper. Everything felt small and insignificant next to what once was large and bustling. Full of life, no matter the struggle that hid underneath. That’s how it had always been. That’s how it felt now for Cloud. 

The man knelt, knees against hard gravel and dirt, in front of a weapon that felt like an old friend more than a bloodstained relic. After all, it had been  _ his.  _ It felt wrong to do anything else with the large sword beside plugs it into the earth. A reminder. Even lilies sprung up sporadically around the worn blade. It made a small smile twitch on his pale lip.  _ Of course, she’d do that…  _

The blonde let out a breath he didn’t realize that caught in his throat. He removed his fusion sword from his back and set it across his lap, pressed to black clad thighs. He took a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth. 

“... it’s been a while.” He spoke again quietly. His eyes stared hard into the dirt where the buster sword’s blade met the earth. It still felt  _ wrong.  _ After all the time that had passed, and all the battles and fighting and remembering who exactly he was, it still would never feel entirely right. 

Cloud clenched and unclenched his fists. It ached. Deep in his chest and felt like fire in his veins, worse than the liquid heat of Mako and stung far more. Grief. 

“Its… difficult, you know.” He mumbled bitterly. He finally found the strength to bring his eyes up to the familiar blade in whole. His eyes drifted to the materia slots. Cura. It had been an idea, fueled by desperation and sorrow that he placed that bright green gemstone into the slot before thrusting it into the earth. A silly idea of wanting them back. Both of them. Two people he loved and cared about so much, but was unable to help. 

_ Zack and Aerith.  _

“Being here without you.” 

Of course, he still had some many people alive who he loved dearly. But…  _ the two who he failed.  _ It weighed heavy. It hurt. It hurt so much. 

Tears blurred his vision for a moment before he harshly wiped them away. He stood abruptly, spinning his fusion blade back onto his back and looked at the little monument to his fallen friend.  _ Fallen savior. Fallen... _

The memories had slowly begun to come back to him, the more time went on. It made the hole in his heart feel so much larger than when he simply mourned for someone he could vaguely remember and someone who he could clearly recall.

Aerith was different then Zack, to him. He met and got to know her while he was in the midst of his delirium, thinking himself a SOLDIER. She accepted him and showed him such kindness, even when he was callous and aloof. She saw the good in him anyway and refused to turn her back to him. Her death felt like the loss of a family member, torn away in the same way his mother had been. 

But Zack… at first, it was hazy. The feelings surrounding who was supposedly a good friend and a first class SOLDIER. He accepted it at face value for a time. But slowly, the memories began to resurface. The joking sparring matches. The lively chatter. The growing crush that grew inside a hopeful cadet’s heart. And the unfocused sound of Zack’s voice, talking to him even when he couldn’t move and couldn’t speak. The way the SOLDIER had held him tenderly and like he was precious while he would have done better to leave a useless shell of a man behind. But like always, Zack was relentless in his kindness. The look in his eyes when he ruffled his hair one last time and stood up and marched off to protect him. Cloud remembered reaching out uselessly. His voice still too weak to call out as a piece of his heart left his sight. 

_ ‘No… Zack… Don’t go..’  _

  
  
  


Cloud winced hard at the Jumble of memories, sighing quietly in frustration and swiftly moved back to where he’d parked fenrir and opened a small satchel he kept on the side. Inside, he gathered a bundle of small violet flowers, neatly gathered and tied up with a thin string. 

He moved with purpose and laid the small bouquet before the buster sword. He took another heavy breath, touching the flowers for a final time before standing to his feet and touching the hilt of the worn blade gently. 

“... I’ll keep living, like I promised.” He whispered softly, feeling his chest grow tighter the longer he stayed. 

“Be your living legacy.” 

Cloud turned and left the small monument, hopping onto his bike and putting his goggles on over his eyes. With one cursory look over his shoulder, eyes watching the glint of the sun off the blade, he started the engine. A gap in the clouds showered the cliff side with rays of sunlight as he drove away. 

He refused to forget those he cherished so much and would hold himself to that conviction until the day he’d die. He refused to forget himself again. 

And he prayed that they wouldn’t forget him either. 

For one day when they’d all meet again, Maybe he’d get to properly thank them. 

The maiden who accepted who he’d become and the man who made him stronger.

_ Forget-Me-Not _

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all feedback is really appreciated


End file.
